One of the key warm-up events for the Tour de France starts on Sunday as the likes of Chris Froome and Primoz Roglic line up for the Criterium du Dauphine.
With the same organisers as the Tour, this race is always set-up as a mini-version of La Grande Boucle - this year's parcours feature the usual eight stages, including four hilly days, an individual time-trial and a sprint, before concluding with two days in the mountains.
Ineos Grenadiers' Richie Porte is the reigning champion, but is unlikely to ride having featured at the Giro d'Italia. Meanwhile, Froome, now of Israel Premier Tech, has won it a joint-record three times while with the same outfit in their previous guise of Team Sky.
However, it is Lotto Jumbo's Roglic who appears the rider to beat, with the strong line-up chosen by the Dutch squad indicating that they are using this race as a dress rehearsal for the Slovenian's latest shot at the Tour.
What: Criterium du Dauphine
Where: Dauphine, France
When: Sunday 5th June - Sunday 12th June
How to watch: Live coverage on GCN+ and Discovery+, highlights on ITV4
Roglic aiming to end French curse
Roglic is arguably the greatest rider of the current generation, perhaps even in cycling's rich history, never to have won the Tour.
Even those who don't follow the sport may recognise the three-time Vuelta a Espana champion for his stunned expression in the aftermath of losing the Yellow jersey on the penultimate day of the 2020 race.
He crashed out of last year's Tour, as he did the 2020 edition of this race, and seems to have an air of uncertainty when racing in France, most recently coming close to blowing a 47-second final day lead at March's Paris-Nice.
With his nemesis Tadej Pogacar absent from the Dauphine, choosing instead to race the Tour of Slovenia, he has a chance to both hone his form and send out a message with a dominant win.
Stars assemble for Dauphine challenge
The 32-year-old has a Tour-worthy team behind him, with last year's second Jonas Vingegaard and 2019 podium finisher Steven Kruijswijk also included. In fact, only Sepp Kuss is missing from what you'd see as Lotto Jumbo's 'A-team', with the American set for the Tour de Suisse.
Other big names in the field are 2020 Giro winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers), last year's fourth in the Tour Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën Team), Enric Mas (Movistar) and a potential wildcard in Warren Barguil (Team Arkea Samsic).
The Frenchman is a dynamic climber and, having won the Tour's Mountains Classification in 2017, is someone to look for in July.
Sprint stars few and far between
The lumpy route and lack of real opportunities mean this is likely to be a contest dominated by the General Classification.
Breakaway opportunities and sprint chances will be few and far between, with Team BikeExchange-Jayco's Dylan Groenewegen possibly the fastest man in the race.
The Dutchman is still to rediscover his best legs since returning from his nine-month ban for pushing Fabio Jakobsen into the barriers at the 2020 Tour de Pologne.
Lower-ranked wins in Hungary and Saudi Arabia suggest the form is there, but he needs a breakout performance to show he still has it.
Meanwhile, a look down the rest of the field shows that the other potential sprint contenders are known for their strength rather than their speed.
TotalEnergies' Edvald Boasson Hagen and fellow veteran Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroen Team) will both be stage hunting, but it could be a long week for the speedsters, with a number perhaps participating with half an eye on next month's Tour.
